1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to networked communications, and in particular, to an improved method and system for accessing software applications of a telecommunications switch.
2. Description of the Related Art
Telecommunications (telecom) switches are signal transfer point devices that provide switching and call setup services in a telephone network. Various types of telecom switches include computerized branch exchanges (CBXs) and private branch exchanges (PBXs). Modern telecom switches typically include resources such as software applications and data bases for configuring the services provided by the switch.
To configure a switch, the software and database resources of the switch must be accessed. Two techniques are conventionally used for accessing switch resources. First, a computer console can be provided at the switch which provides a user interface to the software and database resources. This technique has several drawbacks; specifically, it requires the user to be physically located at the switch, it does not permit concurrent application sessions, and it consumes the processing resources of the switch itself. The second technique for accessing switch resources involves providing a network interface to the switch. The network interface permits a user to access switch resources from a remote location using a networked computer, or the like. Although this technique permits the user to remotely access the switch resources, it does not permit concurrent application sessions. Moreover, remotely executing the applications also consumes the switch""s processing resources.
In addition to the above limitations, known techniques of accessing switch resources rely on a command-line user interfaces. Such interfaces generally lack user-friendliness.
In sum, there is a need for a user-friendly interface to telecom switch resources, such as configuration software and databases, that permits remote, concurrent application sessions with a reduced demand on the processing resources of the switch.
It is an advantage of the present invention to provide an improved method and system of accessing telecom switch resources that overcomes many of the drawbacks and limitations of known techniques. It is a further advantage of the present invention to provide a method and system that permits remotely located users to concurrently access switch resources using the Internet.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the system includes a communication server for managing connectivity between software applications residing on the telecom switch and network applications residing on remote clients. The communication server acts as a gateway, permitting a client-server architecture that allows concurrent connectivity. In addition, the communication server can include a web server and conventional LAN (Local Area Network) interface, which permits remote users to access the switch using a commercially available web browser, such as the Netscape Navigator from Netscape, Inc. or the Internet Explorer from Microsoft, Inc.